Tallahassee, Fla. – The No. 42 Florida State women’s tennis team hosts the UCF Golden Knights on Friday, February 11 and the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, February 12 in back-to-back noon contests at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center in Tallahassee, Fla. The Seminoles (0-1), who have not taken the court in 19 days, look to pick up their first win this season as do the Golden Knights (0-3). No. 33 Alabama is 2-1 overall this season coming off a 4-3 win over Western Michigan.

Historic Layoff… FSU has not played a match in 19 days beginning January 23, 2005 when the Tribe faced Baylor to open the season and Jennifer Hyde’s head coaching tenure in Tallahassee. The Seminoles were set for a 1:00 p.m. tilt with Jacksonville on Sunday, January 29 but it was rescheduled due to rain.

This Match Last Year… In 2004, the Seminoles extended its season-opening win streak to five with a win over UCF at home on February 8, 2004. The Seminoles swept the doubles contest and took five of six singles matches to win. Current Seminoles Mihaela Moldovan (Bucharest, Romania/Emil Racovita), Lindsay Deason (Ft. Myers, Fla./Boca Raton Prep) and Roxanne Clarke (Cape Town, South Africa/Clapham) were winners in the team victory.

Against Alabama… FSU is 6-5 all-time against the Crimson Tide, playing the first match in 1983. The Seminoles lost 5-2 in Tuscaloosa on February 15, 2004. Current Tribe members Moldovan and Clarke picked up singles victories in the contest.

Baylor Briefly… After delaying the match time for the Bears contest and postponing the Ga. Southern match, junior Lindsay Deason put the first point of the season on the board with a win at number two singles. The doubles tandem of senior Amberly Tantee (Dana Point, Calif./Futures) and freshman Tapiwa Marobela (Garborone, Botswana/Clapham) shut out Baylor’s number three team, 8-0.

Trendy Season Start… Three of the last four Seminole head coaches have dropped their first matches in their coaching careers including Patti Henderson, Alice Reen and Lise Gregory. Henderson went on to lead the Seminoles to two Metro Conference Championships while Reen took FSU to its best Atlantic Coast Conference finishes and program best No. 17 national ranking. Gregory went on to become the program’s most winningest coach tallying 119 victories in eight seasons.

Weather Delays Play… The contest against Georgia Southern has been rescheduled for April 16, 2005 at noon.

Looking Ahead… After this weekend’s matches, FSU returns to the court to face the rival No. 2 Florida Gators at home on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 at 5:00 p.m.